The Myth of Winter
by Kanon Anderson
Summary: Sorrow filled his heart, not because he was lying there dying, but because he’d made her cry and broke the promise he had made to her. Never out loud, but always in his heart.
1. Chapter 1

When her thoughts finally cleared and the chaos calmed, she would remember it beginning with a bang. A sudden, loud explosion that at the time had seemed to happen so fast, but in hindsight, would become the longest and most deafening moment of her life.

Following their common ritual, they celebrated their case with pie and a milkshake at the diner. A charming grin on his face, a look of credulity on her own. She remembered it was late and recalled wondering why they always seemed to end their cases at night. Worn out, exhausted and often times, their mental boundaries pushed to the limit. Walls and stances weakened, both wanting nothing more than to seek the comforting solace found in their friendship.

She had paid for their meal last time, so there was no argument as he paid for their meal. At the time, she knew it'd only be a couple of days before they returned to the place that had become a strong symbol in their relationship.

He laughed as she finally got the joke he had told five minutes before. Long ago, he'd realized that the joke didn't die when she didn't understand at first. Instead, it lived on while she reasoned her way through it, discovering the cleverly hidden logic that was usually hidden within.

Her arm slipped easily through his as the crisp autumn air blew, rustling the leaves that had started to fall from their limbs. He clasped his hand over hers and glanced down at her as she began spouted off bits of logic, which to most sounded like trivia, but to him, had come to realize it as her way of communicating with her.

The moon was full and the air clear, her skin seeming to glow against the dark sky. His eyes, a warm brown color, only left her face to look for obstacles and people on sidewalk, using his hips and arm to guide her away from them.

He pressed the button on the car doors, his ears only hearing her voice and not her words. He opened his door and at first, thought it was a car backfiring. He thought nothing of it until a tightness griped his chest and squeezed his heart. His eyes met hers for a moment and saw laughter in his eyes. Laughter which quickly died when she saw the wide eyed expression on his face. She'd seen that look before. And like before, it stole her breath away.

He'd already fallen when she reached his side; her questions and pleas falling on deaf ears. Rivulets of blood poured over her hand as she pressed her hand to his chest, maneuvering him so his head law on her lap.

He kept his eyes on her and only her, his lips struggling to form words which would never be heard. He saw tears fall down her face and wanted to wipe them away. Sorrow filled his heart, not because he was lying there dying, but because he'd made her cry and broke the promise he had made to her. Never out loud, but always in his heart. His last thoughts as he saw her pale face fade away against the night sky and tears falling like diamonds in the moonlight was of that promise to never leave her and how sorry he was to not wipe her tears away.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: As always, they're not mine. Please review and let me know your thoughts!!!

She awoke with a shudder, gasping for air as she pushed her way from sleep to being awake. The scream that had been torn from her throat died on her lips as she looked around. Lightning flashed and rain beat at her windows, but the torrential downpour wasn't what had awoken her. It was the insistent pounding on her door.

Without thinking, she climbed out of bed and pulled her robe around her, tightening it at her waist. No one had come to her door at night in three days. Before then, it had been a nightly occurrence she had come to depend on. It was only as her hand reached out to twist the knob that she remembered. The memory stabbed at her heart and she physically gasped for air. He would never knock on her door again.

Following through with her earlier actions, she twisted the doorknob, blinking owlishly in the bright light of the hallway that streamed in through the door. "Dr. Brennan? We need you to come with us." Her eyes had been so used to the dark that it wasn't until the man moved in front of the light she was able to focus. He was tall with dark skin and a balding head. She'd met him before when he came bearing the coffin who they had thought to be JFK. And now, like then, felt she was being held hostage once more.

"What-I don't understand," she said, willing her voice to sound strong. She needed it to be strong. She never let others see the weakness within.

"Please change your clothing and come with us. You have five minutes." The words were short and terse and she stood still for a moment, wondering if she was in fact still dreaming. However the sharp crack of thunder and the insistence of the rain on her roof proved otherwise. He turned his back to her, showing he would stand guard while she got ready.

She quickly pulled on a pair of old jeans and a long sleeve shirt, tugging a black fleece pullover on and zipping her knee high boots on over her jeans. It was the closest set of clothes at hand and something inside of her told her to not waste time.

Her hair was quickly pulled back into a rubber band and she grabbed her keys and cell phone. She opened the door to her apartment, returning his silent nod, which had asked if she was ready. She didn't know what she was getting ready for, only that it had the upmost of urgency and secrecy.

The black Suburban she had been ushered into slipped silently through the DC night. It was a Saturday night and although the sky was dark, the moon completely hidden from sight. A cold wind whipped through the air and she subconsciously shivered. Just days ago, the wind had been crisp, with the promise of fall. Now, it was cold and bone chilling. She'd only begun to discover what those words truly and metaphorically meant. She'd been filled with a coldness she couldn't get rid of with blankets, hot baths or the scalding coffee she drank to try and melt the ice she felt within.

"Where are we going," she asked, her eyes working to study the streets they passed and lights they turned out. She mentally ran through maps of every location she could think of, but the directions they took only left her drawing a blank. Silence was her only reply.

The drive seemed to take hours, but a glance at the clock showed they'd only been traveling for thirty minutes. The house they pulled up outside of was non-descript. White shutters. Black roofing and red brick. It could have been one of several thousand in the metro D.C. area. She wished for the thousandth time she had Zack's beautiful mind with the gift of remembering everything he saw and felt. But, exhaustion and grief had whittled a part of hers away and she was left staring at the bland structure in front of her.

The two men nodded at each other and Mr. White motioned her forward, up the stone path that lead to the white door. The bell was rung twice. Anticipation built in her chest, making it ache. The scientist in her demanded to know where she was and why she had been brought here, not understanding. The woman inside her already knew and fought violently with the scientist wanting to know how she knew without empirical evidence.

Before her thoughts could progress much further, the door opened and they were shown inside. The men that had brought her here surrounded her, protecting her, but without care. Her eyes wandered around the interior, which was as nondescript as the exterior. Pictures hung on the wall. A couch and chairs sat arranged in the living room. Hardwood floors echoed with her footsteps. She turned, a question on her lips, quickly dying when she saw him sitting in one of the chairs. It'd been pushed in the shadows and she didn't know how she had missed him at first. Her eyes stared unblinking at him, drinking in the image of him sitting there. Instinct told her to reach out and touch him. Her mind told her to lash out and run away from the nightmare she'd been thrust in.


	3. Chapter 3

"Hiya Bones," he said, pushing himself up from the chair. She saw him wince and flinched, her arms coming to wrap around herself. "Sorry about all the black ops stuff to get you here." He saw the look on her face and knew she was struggling to process what her mind was seeing. He gave her a moment, letting her eyes just roam over him. He had expected her to start lashing out at him, hitting and pounding against him with her fists. He let her approach him, still not reaching out to touch him.

"I promised I would tell you the next time I died." She shifted her stance, her eyes still not believing what they saw. He began to worry when she didn't speak. He knew she was still mentally working through what had happened, what was happening. "I need to go away for a while." He approached her slowly, his hands grasping her shoulders gently. She jerked back at first. A part of her thought he was a ghost. The other part still struggled to reason with the man she saw before her. The same man who, by all rights, should be dead.

"Where?" Her voice came out small and weak. It was the first time he'd ever heard the tone uttered from her lips.

"I don't know. I don't have much time. I just- I couldn't leave you like I did last time." She nodded, eyes flicking from him, to objects in the room, the other agents- anything that she could commit to memory so she knew she wasn't going crazy. "Look Bones…I can't…" His voice drifted off as he licked his lips, eyes closed as he looked to the ceiling. She never thought she'd hear that word come from his lips. Never thought she'd feel the rush that came with it. In that moment, it showed her he was was still there. He hadn't left her, at least in a way that he could never come back from. "I won't be able to contact you. It'll be too dangerous and I can't….I won't be here to protect you if it got out that I was still alive and where I was living. I can't put you in that danger." He reached out and touched her again, lifting her face gently to meet his. "Temperance, promise me you won't come looking for me. You won't use your scientists, your equipment….you won't do anything to find out where I am. I can't take the risk of you getting hurt. Promise me." Tears fell from her eyes as she nodded, making no motion to wipe them away. "You're the only one I've told…Rebecca, Parker…as far as they know, I'm dead. It's more dangerous this time and I need…I need you to look in on him, okay? I need you to spend time with him, keep my memory alive for him. I can't let him think I'm completely gone, because I won't be."

Again, she nodded, the tears coming more freely now. He pulled her to him, wrapping his arms tight around her. Her face fell to his neck and he felt the wetness of tears against his skin. Moments passed that felt like hours, but when they were forced apart by the deep voice of Mr. White, seemed only like a second. He loosened his grip and began to pull away, when he heard her voice, soft but stronger. "Promise me something."

"Anything." He wiped the tears from her face, meeting her eyes.

"Promise me you'll come back. That you won't leave me…for good." Her voice shook on the last word. Her emotions catching up and waking the part of her she thought had died three days before.

Without hesitation, he gave his promise. "I will always come back to you," he said, pulling her close once more.

"Agent Booth, it's time." Again, White's voice interrupted the moment he tried to create for them. He pressed a kiss to her temple, feeling her shake in his grasp. He saw her eyes closed tight as he pulled away and with a gentle squeeze to her arms, he left.

She counted to ten before she opened her eyes. Waited for the door to shut, the car to start and the sound of it driving away. It hurt her to feel him pull away from her, but it would have killed to watch him walk out of the door and out of her life.


	4. Chapter 4

She went to his second funeral without protest. Angela, Hodgins, Cam….they all thought it was because she'd grown in her humanity. Finally realized the importance of closure. The truth was she knew his body didn't lie in the coffin. No tears fell from her eyes. Around her were muffled sobs and tissues dabbing at blood shot eyes. She thought it would be easier this time, knowing he wasn't in the wooden box that hovered over the gaping hole in the ground, but for once she had been wrong. Instead, she found the pain worse, knowing he was still alive when ever y part of her felt dead and she had no one to talk to about it.

The days passed quickly and slowly at the same time. To everyone's shock and surprise, she didn't immediately cut her contract with the FBI. At first, she went out in the field every couple of weeks to help recover a body and take specimens. Then over time, the field trips became less and less. Bodies were automatically brought to the lab and examined. Agent Perotta was the one to visit most often, filling them in on details and getting the forensic information she needed to solve cases. She called them her people occasionally, when it slipped off her tongue before she could catch it. It twisted her heart just a little bit more. They were Booth's people. Always had been, always would be.

What surprised everyone the most was how they all expected her to lose herself in her work again. Spend long hours on the platform or in her office, disappearing for hours into Limbo to identify the remains of lives that had long been gone from the Earth. It had happened before and they expected it again. And even though that pattern held true during the week, a shockwave ran through Cam when she walked in on the first Saturday after Booth's death and Dr. Temperance Brennan wasn't there.

The sounds of a carousel drifted through the air. Children laughed and ran around the green areas of the mall, sneakers crunching through the leaves that fell from the large oak trees. She held onto his hand tight, listening to the entire retelling of his week in school. She'd upheld the promise she made and true to her word, had contacted Rebecca to arrange for her to spend time with Parker in the wake of his father's absence. Rebecca had agreed without hesitation. A part of her had changed when she heard Seeley had died. His passing affirmed that no one lived forever and Parker should spend time with those that cared most for him. She wanted him to always have a strong memory of his father and the best way she saw of accomplishing that was by letting the woman he loved-truly loved- spend time with him.

"And then I got a B on my spelling test." His words sunk through the thoughts she had been lost in and she smiled, squeezing his hand tighter.

"Well, I think that deserves some hot chocolate." She felt a tug on her hand and looked down to see him jumping up and down in excitement. "Can we ride the carousel first?" He smiled up at her and she froze as she saw herself looking down at a smaller version of Booth for a moment. She recovered before the child noticed and lead him over to the carousel. He was unusually cheerful for a child who had lost their father. A part of her wondered if at nine, one was able to comprehend the finality that came with death.

The afternoon passed quickly and before she knew it, she was dropping Parker off at Rebecca's. They exchanged pleasantries and then she left, alone for the afternoon once more. Angela called, asking if she wanted to catch a movie and Hacker had called, requesting drinks with her. She declined both offers, claiming she was behind on submitting chapters for her book.

Excuses failed her though, when she found herself sitting at his gravestone, a plastic pig clutched in her hand. They'd made a lot of promises to each other. She realized this a long time ago, but hadn't been faced with the completion of many of them until that moment. She knew he wasn't there. Logic told her it wouldn't make a difference if she spoke to his head headstone or to the television she had moved from his apartment to hers. They were both just symbols of the man she had called her partner and best friend. Her heart told her it made all the difference in the world and so she held the promise she had made to him long ago, at a different headstone. She came and spoke to him every weekend, after she spent the day with Parker.


	5. Chapter 5

The case had been hard. It always was when a child was caught in the aftermath. A young woman, aged just under 30 lay on the cold steel bed on the platform. Scientists, doctors and interns all buzzed around, completing their daily chores. Bones comprising the skeleton lay on the table, ready to packaged and returned to the victim's family. It'd taken three weeks to solve. A man killed by his ex-wife over the daughter he hadn't been able to see in three weeks. An ice skate blade had been slammed across the frontal bone. Death had been instantaneous. He had taken their daughter on a weekend that hadn't been his to begin with.

What haunted the scientists more than the discovery was Mr. Nigel-Murray's offering of trivia afterwards. He recalled the story of Demeter and Persephone, the Greek myth on why seasons existed.

Persephone, he explained had been born the daughter of Greek gods Zeus and Demeter. Entranced by her beauty, Hades, god of the underworld kidnapped Persephone, taking her into his realm. Throughout her state of mourning, Persephone searched endlessly for her daughter, causing the world to grow cold and crops to not grow. Before Persephone was returned to her mother, Hades had tricked her into eating six pomegranate seeds, thus forcing her return to the underworld for one season. During that one season, the God of Nature would mourn. The world grew cold again, crops would die and the weather would change. It wasn't until Persephone's return to the world above that the world would regain its strength. Crops prospered and the earth grew warm as Demeter would embrace her daughter again.

Angela had heard the story before and even now, at Nigel-Murray's retelling, she felt a strong tug of emotion at her core. People would do crazy things in the name of love. Acknowledge it, deny it and even fight it until it threatened to tear them apart. Kill in the name of it, die in the name of it. Even mourn so strongly that everything around them would be forgotten and left to perish. Much like the storms that raged outside and covered the city in white, in the wake of Seeley Booth's death, a metaphorical winter had settled over the lab. Nothing grew, nothing prospered. Everything had changed by staying just the same.

She began to think she had been going crazy. She really hadn't seen him that night. Hadn't spoken with him. Hadn't held him, hadn't touched him, hadn't promised him to keep up with his son. He was buried in Arlington and he had died that night everything had changed.

It'd been three months since his death. Snow fell from the skies, covering the city in a blanket of white. Joyful music poured from speakers, smiles surrounded her and brilliant lights covered the city. She hosted dinner at her apartment again, not because she felt obligated to, but because she wanted to. It would become tradition, one he encouraged her to start. Those who had attended the year before, attended again. Even Zack had earned a day pass and was able to join them. It had her a bit happier to have him with them again, even if it was for just a few hours. It made the dull ache that had taken a permanent residence in her heart ache just a little bit less.

The guests left one by one, Sweets and Daisy with Zack to take him back to the institution, her hug for him the tightest of them all. Michelle and Cam so Michelle could catch her flight to Miami. They'd made a compromise this year. Angela and Hodgins leaving together. They too had a flight to catch in the morning. Spending the next few days in Texas, with Angela's father. Margaret and her father remained, helping to clean up and get everything sorted before donning their jackets and leaving as well.

She walked them to the door and hugged each of them. When she pulled away from her father, she smiled as he cupped her cheek and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "I'm sorry he couldn't be here," he said, running a thumb along her cheek as the tears filled her eyes.

"Me too," she said, taking his hand from her face and squeezing it. His face had crossed her thoughts all night. She remembered the warmth of his hand as she held it in her own as they had their moment of silence. The ache returned, sharper than before. "I wish-he would've liked to see us do this again."

He nodded, squeezing her hand again before pulling his coat on and opening the door. "Go look under your tree," he said, the door sliding shut behind him. The words had been soft and between Margaret's heels on the hardwood floor and the door clicking shut, she didn't know if she heard him right.

She walked back into her living room, where the tree sparkled with lights and ornaments. The pine smell still came from it, even though her father and her had put it in over a week ago. There, beneath the green boughs and nestled against the velvet plum skirt was a small padded envelope with her name adhered to the top. She poured herself the last glass of wine and took the package over to the couch.

Her thumb slid easily under the top, pulling the envelope open. Inside was a small wrapped box and a card. The card only said one thing. "Look in the ring." She recognized the writing from anywhere. She'd seen it a thousand times on their reports, the notes he'd sometimes leave if she had been out when he stopped by and the credit card slips he signed when they went out together.

The tears that had been threatening to fall all night finally fell.

She opened the box next, her hands once strong and sure now shaking with emotion. She found a small jewelry box inside. Made of smooth teak wood, with a dark finish. She popped it open and felt the breath leave her chest. A small silver dolphin formed a perfect ring, its nose touching its tail. She lifted it and held it to the light, her finger running along the inside. The letters of the inscription caught her nail. Phil 1:3. A bible verse.

Quickly grabbing her laptop and taking a sip of wine to steady herself, she entered the verse into a search engine. The response was immediate. Philippians 1:3- I thank my God whenever I think of you. Her eyes slid shut as a sob escaped from her. In that moment, she didn't care she didn't believe in the God inscribed in her ring. Didn't care that others may question why she wore something religious around her finger or on a necklace next to her heart. He believed in God and he thanked him every day for bringing her into his life. It wasn't an overt expression of love or of dying devotion. She didn't need that. Never had. But, in that moment, in the wake of his absence, she felt him with her once more.

She returned to work the next day, the ring hanging from a chain around her neck. She didn't want anything as pure and beautiful as it was to touch the rotting, desiccated corpses she sometimes touched before the bones had been cleaned.


	6. Chapter 6

It seemed to rain all the time. Water hitting the ground so hard that it seemed to rain up, as well as down. He shivered, tired of being wet and cold all of the time. He thought of his apartment and his bathtub. He hadn't had a warm shower in weeks. It made him even more cold as he thought of the steam that would issue from it.

He'd been tracking various militias through the jungle for months now. He knew their movements, predicted their actions and knew whom they trusted, and who they didn't. As a Ranger and FBI agent, he had been handpicked for this mission. Turning it down would have been desertion to his beloved United States government.

The lights around the camp dimmed and he relaxed minutely, leaning against the tree and tugging the camouflage jacket closer around himself, trying to retain some of his body warmth. He'd lost track of time while in the jungle. He reported in as commanded, issuing the reports that were needed. His eyes drifted towards the sky, covered by the canopy of trees. The jungle held a darkness he'd never experienced before. The thick leaves keeping out any source of light that didn't originate from within.

Shivering again, he shifted his position. His mind drifted to Brennan, and he smiled. These days, the only time he smiled was when he thought of her and his son, Parker. He wondered if she kept his promise; there was no doubt in his mind that she would. The worst part of the jungle was the smell of the flowers. They matched the scent of her hair exactly. It was like being surrounded by her all time, only to open his eyes and see she wasn't there.

He hoped she got his present. He'd had it made before he left and had given it to an agent to give to her father for safekeeping as soon he had learned he was being sent away. It was the one deal he had made before leaving. He would be able to get a small message to her once every few months. Nothing that anyone else would recognize as coming from him, but to remind her all the same that he was still here; he hadn't left for good.

It was to be her Christmas present from him. He thought of the dinner last year and felt tears rise to his eyes. He missed holding her hand. Admonishing her so they could have a moment of silence. Peeping during that moment of silence to watch her with her eyes closed. She must have felt his eyes on her; he remembered the small squeeze of her hand against his. God, he missed her.

Movement to his right caught his attention and he turned. A sharp blow to the head was the last thing he felt before his world went black.


	7. Chapter 7

She finally made it to China to examine the pre-historic remains that had been found. The plane rumbled around her, the cabin growing quiet as passengers settled in for a long flight. She'd come to escape the silence that had surrounded her, only to find a different kind of silence.

The music of Coldplay filled her ears as she slid the Bose headphones over her ears, shutting out the plane's drone. The sleeping pill she had taken working its way through her system. She wished she didn't have to take it, didn't need a pill to stop the sleeplessness she'd had over the past months. The last flight she'd be on, she would have given anything for Booth to stop annoying her so she could rest. Now, she'd given anything to have him jabbing her in the shoulder. She turned towards the window and lifted it just a bit. Darkness filled the horizon with the stars and the bright moon as the only points of lights.

She wondered if it was night where he was. If the same darkness she saw was the same for him. She'd reasoned a thousand times that he was in a place of conflict. Wondered if he'd been called up because of his sniper training. He hadn't given her much detail. It had frustrated her at first. Now, it just left her wondering. She'd started paying more attention to the news, wondered if he'd been behind one of the hundreds of deaths that had occurred since he left. His past had never concerned her. His sharp eye and quick reflexes had saved her life more than once.

Her eyes grew heavy and with a sigh, she pushed the cover back down over the window and pulled the blanket over herself. Her last thoughts before drifting off were of the afternoon she'd gone to the shooting range with him. Gordon Gordon, Sweets, herself…they'd all offered him advice, but none of it seemed to be what he was looking for. Then they'd had dinner in Gordon Gordon's kitchen and it seemed he found whatever he was looking for. He'd managed a perfect shot the next morning. She'd treated him to breakfast afterwards.

She dreamt of him. She dreamt of the book she'd written andd read to him when he was comatose. A happiness she'd never felt before filled her, almost overloading her senses. She felt his arms around her, his lips against hers as he kissed her. The smell of his cologne, the feel of his stubble against her cheek, the pressure of his forehead as it rested against hers…it all was almost too much for her to take in. It was everything she'd wanted, but was too afraid to grasp. Always thought she didn't deserve the one thing the rest of the world seemed to be able to obtain. The love of another.

She awoke with a gasp, not from pain, but of sadness. Her vision was blurred from the tears that had fallen down her cheeks. A glimpse out the window showed that it was daylight. The stewards voice informed the passengers they would be landing in fifteen minutes.

As she gathered her belongings and raised the back of her seat, her mind drifted back to the dream. She reasoned that the sleeping pill had caused the vividness she felt. Explained the reason she could feel, smell and taste him, even though she'd never been that intimate with them. What she couldn't blame on the pill was the sadness that filled her heart. The sorrow she felt at realizing the dream had just been that, and may not have the chance to become nothing more.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Sorry for the hiatus!!! Been crazy this entire week. This chapter's short, but the next one should be longer. As always, let me know your thoughts.

Pain ricocheted around his brain, brilliant spots of light exploding behind his eyelids. He pushed himself up with a groan, pain shooting through his shoulder. He guessed a dislocated shoulder. His vision blurred as he opened his eyes. Darkness surrounded him. He struggled to stand and walked around the small cell he was in. Fifteen paces forward and he hit another wall. Ten to the right, another wall. He did this again, confirming the small cube was in was fifteen paces by ten. No mattress or toilet. Only a dirt floor and a door that was well locked. It didn't even budge as he threw all of his weight against it.

He slid slowly to the floor, his head resting between his knees. Closing his eyes and counting slowly, he calmed his breathing. He didn't know if it was the drugs or the adrenaline that had started to wear off. His shoulder started throbbing and for the first time, he noticed the gash on his head. The last thing he remembered was his thoughts of her and sudden blackness. Not for the first time since he had been forced on this godforsaken mission did he wish he had said no, refused. Because even if it meant desertion, at least he knew she'd be with him and he wouldn't be stuck in the hell hole he was in.

Time passed with no way for him to mark it. His watch had disappeared. No light from the outside entered, so he didn't know day from night. It could have been minutes or hours since he had woken up.

A slot in the door opened and something was pushed through, falling with a thud to the floor. He crawled forward and felt through the darkness for it. Hs hands fell on a cold lump and something wet. He lifted the cold lump and smelled it. The scent of days old yeast met his nose. He took a bite, reasoning that starving wouldn't do him any good. If it was drugged, it might at least make the pain in his shoulder go away. The cold thing provide to be a bottle of water. He ate and drank, realizing for the first time he was hungry.

He finished the meager meal, then pushed himself up and walked around the cell again. Fists pounded against the door. Sticks broke and nails he found on the floor bent as he tried to pry open the small slot. When he could yell no more, he fell to the ground, hands and legs shaking from exhaustion. Defeated, his head fell forward to rest on his bended knees. He finally gave into the exhaustion that had overcome him and fell asleep.


	9. Chapter 9

Sweat dripped down her face, temporarily blurring her vision. She wiped it away with a dirt covered hand, leaving dark traces on her face. She carefully lifted the skull and gave it a cursory examination before handing it to one of the interns who stood by patiently. For the past two weeks, she spent the morning digging and the afternoons under a makeshift tent, examining the remains. She felt a vibration in her pocket, but ignored it. Knew it would be Angela or her father calling to check up on her. Make sure she was safe and alive and well. To convince them she hadn't completely blocked them out of her life.

She was due back in DC in two more weeks time. It felt too soon and too far away at the same time. The bell announcing lunch rang out, startling her from her thoughts. Pushing herself up from the ground, she dusted her hands off, then climbed the ladder to get out of the hole. Every day here was the same. The flesh on the bodies had long since rotted off, leaving just the skeleton. No blood. No gore. Only hundreds of Chinese soldiers that needed to be identified. At one point in her life, she would have given anything to be here, doing this. But at this point, right now, she would give anything to be trudging through a hot, humid swamp. Anything that meant she'd be at the diner with a fruit plate, teasing her best friend about his pie.

Night descending over the camp. Tents gradually darkened as lights were put out. She finished logging her findings for the day and leaned back against the pallet in her tent. She closed her eyes and breathed in deeply, trying to clear her mind. Do everything in her power to stop her mind from wandering back to him. Frustrated, she pushed herself up and slid some shoes on. The site was in the middle of a field. The nearest village twenty miles away.

For fourteen nights, she found herself out in the middle of it. Stretched out on a blanket, her eyes watching the sky. Dolphinus was bright that night. One of the few consolations in her life right then. She pulled her cell phone from her pocket and listened to her voice mails. Two from Angela. One from Cam. She listened to her best friend's voice as she spoke about their day in the lab. She and Hodgins had visited Zack. He sent well wishes from the loony bin. Things had been slow since she left. No new cases or bodies had been brought in. The message from Cam was impersonal and personal, in its own way. She reported the interns were working steadily through limbo. Hoped the dig was going well and a mysterious letter had been hand delivered for her.

Her heart sped up as she heard those words. Tears pricked at the edge of her eyes. She knew it had to be from Booth. He was the only one who would send her something that had to be hand delivered. She stayed in the field, letting the tears flow freely. Before meeting Seeley Booth, Temperance Brennan could count the amount of times she had cried on one hand. Since meeting him, she cried more, hugged more, smiled more. And for every time a tear had fallen from her eye, he had been there to wipe it away and hold her tight. The tears she cried were for all the moments she should have cried, but never did. For the years her parents were gone, nights locked in a trunk and every time another person walked out of her life.

When the tears finally stopped, she wrapped her arms tight around herself. The sweatshirt she had taken from his apartment warmed her, surrounding him with his scent. She pushed herself up and brushed any dirt from her clothes, careful to not get any mud on the sweatshirt. Carefully, she made her way back to camp and returned to her tent.

When she closed her eyes again, she was finally able to drift off into a sleep that smelled of Seeley Booth and filled with moments of the life she'd once had. Two weeks was suddenly a lifetime away.


	10. Chapter 10

It'd been a month since she'd left. Since she'd set foot in the terminal that would lead her back home. She knew Angela would be waiting for her at passenger pickup. Foot tapping impatiently, hoping for no delay in her flight. As she walked through the doors, she wasn't let down. A whirlwind of red and black flew at her, arms holding her tight. "I'm glad to see you too," she said, hugging her best friend tight.

"Jeez Bren, were you trying to blend in with the natives?" The artist took in the tanned skin on her usually pale friend.

"It was really warm and sunny," she said, readjusting the pack on her shoulder. "You look good."

"Hodgins and I are back together." Her friend was vibrating from the excitement of her news. "After the whole pregnancy scare, we just sorta…realized what we were missing out on."

"That's great," Brennan said, heading for the baggage claim.

As they stepped into the spring air, she took a deep breath. She'd left in the middle of a blizzard, only to return when everything was blooming. Somehow, in the month since she'd been gone, everything had started to grow again. Pink blossoms filled the trees. Ice had melted. Hodgins and Angela were back together. From Angel's gossip, she learned Cam had a new boyfriend. Life had continued on, thawing from the frozen winter that had descended before she left. Everyone was moving on, finding happiness after so much sorrow. She wondered if the same would happen for her. Because even though life was happening all around her, all she felt in her chest was an emptiness she couldn't fill.


	11. Chapter 11

His body hit the cell floor hard. Blood weeping from wounds on his hands and back. Blood dripped from a cut to his lip. Reaching for a dirty cloth he'd made from an old shirt, he dipped it in a bowl of water left from breakfast and dabbed at the cut. He never complained, except for in a sarcastic manner. Never spoke, unless he was in that damned chair, being hit over and over again. Never cried out. Never shouted.

He'd fixed his arm in his own way. A waded cloth and a place slam against a wall had popped the socket into its joint. That was the only time he screamed away from them. It was night outside now. After his initial encounter, he'd been moved to a different cell. This one had three bricks missing, allowing for a tiny window. He looked out and saw the moon and stars. It made everything seem less lonely. Not once in his solitude of the prison did he pray for death. Never did trying to harm himself or encourage them to kill him cross his mind. He'd made a promise to her. He'd come back to her. Even if it meant returning to her broken and in pieces, he would return to her. In all of his beatings, all of his pain, never did he curse God for the pain he was in. The only prayers he muttered at night were for him and for God to take him away from there, only to return to her again.


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: Sorry...meant to add the note in Chapter 11. Added a new chapter 9 and moved the rest of the chapters back by one. Hope you enjoy and it's almost over!!!

"Would you mind taking him for the night?" The question had surprised her and she still felt the shock roll through her system when she thought of it. It was her weekend with Parker and upon picking him up, Rebecca had asked that simple question.

She had agreed quickly, without much thought. Of course he could stay the night. So they went for their customary dinner at the diner. He rambled on about his friends and for the first time, a crush he had on a girl named Claire. She was in the same grade as him with long blonde hair and sea green eyes. She thought liking blondes must run in the family.

After dinner, he changed into his swimsuit and she read by the pool while he played in the water. After ten minutes of begging, she finally gave in and got in with him. They played Marco Polo and other games until finally, it was his bedtime.

She made up the guest bed with the sheets she'd bought just for him. Spiderman sheets and a new matching comforter. A few toys and things that had been left from other visits were relocated to the room as well. It wasn't so much of a guest room anymore, but a room for him. She knew Booth would be proud of her.

After hair had been combed and teeth had been brushed, he settled into the bed with a book. She thought nine a bit old for a child to be read to still, but she readily agreed to read to him as she settled down on the bed, with him curled up against her. She read out loud the adventures of Harry and Hermione, dragons eggs and an evil wizard. When she glanced down thirty minutes later, she saw him sound asleep, his chest rising and falling calmly with each of his breaths. She closed the books and turned off the light on the bedside table until just the moonlight filtered in through the blinds. She ran a finger gently along his cheek, running her hands through his now dry and unruly curls. She brushed a kiss to his forehead, then gently dislodged his grasp from her. Just as she was about to close the door and head to the living room to finish some paperwork, his voice caught her attention. Barely a whisper, but she still heard it. "I love you, Bones." Tears welled up in her eyes as she returned the sentiment and left the door open just a crack, in case he needed or called out for her.

She sat heavily on the couch and wiped at her eyes as she glanced towards the gold padded envelope that lay on her table. Like the small package that had arrived in December, this one had just her name hand written on it. She hadn't had the courage to open it since her arrival a week before. She reached for it and slid her nail beneath the opening.

Her breath caught in her throat as a note, followed by a heavy object wrapped carefully in jersey cloth fell out onto the table. The note was on a plain white card. No envelope or address. Again, only a short message in his writing, telling her he hadn't forgotten his promise to her. She opened the package and found a heavy glass object, twisted into a graceful figure eight. She looked at the message again, tears rising to her eyes as she realized what it now meant. The message was only a few words. "Always and forever". The sign of infinity. Her hand flew to the ring she wore on the chain around her neck. A symbol that reflect two of the things most important to him. His faith and her. The object in her hands reflected two of things most important to her. Science and him.

She lifted the cloth it had been wrapped in and inhaled. The scent of his cologne, body wash and a smell she could only associate as him overwhelmed her senses. Suddenly exhausted, she picked the glass item up from the table and went into her room. Pulling on the shirt that had come in the package, she turned off all the lights and climbed between the sheets. Moonlight through the window reflected off the infinity sign. As she hugged the shirt closer to her body and closed her eyes, for a moment, she was able to imagine he was with her once again.

When she woke in the morning, she found Parker wrapped around her, his head buried against her neck. As she stroked his hair and he awoke, she asked him what was wrong. What had caused his eyes to be so bloodshot.

He told her he had a nightmare. His dad being taken from him. When he'd walked past her room to use the bathroom, he recognized the scent from the shirt she wore. It was all she could do to not lose it right then and there. She him closer, kissing his head and finally, felt him fall back asleep. She closed her eyes, falling asleep shortly behind him. So much of him surrounded her. For the first time, in a long time, her dreams were better than reality. And she fell asleep with a smile.


	13. Chapter 13

At first, it seemed the walls were crumbling around him. Not in a metaphorical sense, but in the literal sense. Shouting could be heard through the small window of his cell. Shots rang through the air. When the chaos cleared and for the first time in days was able to think with a clear mind, he would remember the soldiers breaking in. Taking back that which was their own. Never leaving a man behind.

He would spend three weeks in a hospital, having his wounds tended to, given proteins first intravenously, then in solid form as he regained his strength. His bones ached, muscles feeling torn from the ligaments, but none of that mattered to him. He knew it meant one day closer to returning back to his home.

As he lay in bed at night, his eyes drifting toward the much larger window of his hospital room, he would remember the last package he had left for her. Had managed to have transported back to the US through an envoy transporting soldiers that had been wounded or killed. He wondered if she understood the note, the significance of his gift. He would never leave her. Would never betray her, always protect her. He would always love her.

As the days passed and he slowly gained his strength, he learned it'd been two months in the prisoner camp. He, along with fifteen other US soldiers had been rescued. More importantly, would be returning to the US by the end of the week.


	14. Chapter 14

The sun shone bright against the clear sky. Across the nation, preparations were being made to celebrate the nation's birthday. For her, it symbolized the eighth month since he had left. Hodgins and Angela were once again engaged. Cam had broken up with her boyfriend and had since dated two other men. Michelle was looking at college. Zack had started using his hands again. She had arranged for him to have corrective surgery done to repair much of the damaged cartilage.

She sat in her apartment, hands flying over the keyboard as she wrote. She'd written two novels since he left. Rather than burying herself in science and logic, she turned now to her creative side. Pouring all of the frustration and loneliness she felt into the words that filled each page. Her editors stated they'd never seen this much creativity from her. Her readers reported loving this side of her. Gordon Gordan had told her Booth would've been proud of her. Proud to see her embrace the passionate side of her, rather than the logical. That statement alone meant more than the checks, the reviews and the new car she'd received.


	15. Chapter 15

A/N: Last chapter!!! Thanks so much for sticking with this. I'm thinking a sequel may be in the future.

Thinking back, she would remember opening the door and seeing him. For the first time, her brain unable to calculate what she saw before her. His arm in a sling, his body more slender and less of the muscle mass than she could remember. But, none of that would matter.

And when the dopamine, norepinephrine and other brain chemicals finally calmed and her brain was able to focus once more, the only thing she would remember was his arms around her, his lips against her face and his words, whispered gently against her temple. "I promised I'd come back."

And when they lay in her bed that night, her wrapped in his arms as he slept, she'd think back to how she always imagined how she'd feel when he returned. She imagined she would cry or be angry. Thrash at him for leaving her. Strike at him because he hurt her. She imagined holding him close while she sobbed or he cried. And worst of all, imagined the utter emptiness that would finally consume her if he died, breaking his unspoken promise to never leave her, committing the final act of betrayal.

But not once, in the thousands of scenarios, did it once play out like it had in reality. She hadn't cried or declared her undying love for him. He hadn't ravaged her with his lips or thrust her against a wall, desperate for the feel of her skin against his.

Instead, he only held her and kissed her gently, putting her hand over his heart and offering the only physical evidence he could that he was still there. The proof she would need to understand what was happening around feel of his still beating heart in his chest. An hour passed before he shifted his position, the exhaustion catching up with him. Without a word being muttered, she turned off all the lights and bolted her door shut before twining her hand with his and leading him to her room.

He felt her hands on his chest, lightly tracing the scars that marred his skin. He felt no shame when she touched them and lay quiet while she explored. He only felt his lips on one scar. The one on the right side of his chest. The one he took for her. He ran his hands through her hair, smiling when she looked up at him. With a gentle kiss to his lips, she settled against him once more, his hand coming to tangle on the necklace she still wore. "I thank my God when I remember you." She felt his lips move against her temple and smiled with him, watching his finger run along the inscription. "And I promise to never leave you." Her eyes flicked over to the glass figure that still rested on her nightstand. "I was afraid you wouldn't get them." Her response was a kiss to his neck and the tightening of her arms around him.

She didn't ask about what had happened. She trusted in time he would tell her. Soon enough the nightmares would start to haunt him and they would have to face the troubles of both of their pasts. Troubles that at times, would threaten to tear them apart.

But for now, the sun shone through the windows, glistening from the drops that hadn't yet disappeared from the night's storm. Like the myth of winter that had been retold months before, she felt the emptiness in her chest disappear and she could breathe once again. Life was slowly returning.

When her thoughts cleared and the chaos calmed, the only thing she would remember would be him holding her close and the promise he whispered to her as she slowly slipped back into sleep.

FIN


End file.
